Holden Police Awarded State Certification

HOLDEN, Mass. — The Holden Police Department received recertification from the Massachusetts Police Accreditation Commission after an intensive six-month review, becoming one of only three Central Massachusetts departments to earn the distinction.

"The entire certification and accreditation program is really rooted in the pursuit of excellence," said Northborough Police Chief Mark Leahy, who awarded the certification to Holden Police Chief George Sherrill and other members of the department.

Sherrill said the groundwork for the recertification was done by a team consisting of Lt. David Armstrong, Animal Control Officer Mike Sendrowski, Officer Mike Braley and  Department Administrator Johannah Adams.

Leahy said he often hears people claim that their town's police department is one of the best, and he feels tempted to ask what that opinion is based on.

"One of the beauties of the accreditation process is that it really forces the chief and members of the department to really put the money where their mouth is. It opens the doors of the department to outside scrutiny, it offers the residents of the town really the only accurate, thorough and definitive measurement of whether or not your police department is doing what they're supposed to be doing."

Leahy said the process is far from a cakewalk, and scrutinizes standards ranging from the most dangerous areas of liability exposure and the use of force, to the hiring and firing process.

"It's really every component of the business," he said.

The Holden Police Department was first certified in 2003, only the 11th in the commonwealth to receive the accreditation.

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